Canadian whisky is often offered 
to the drinker 
who has ordered  "a rye". 
Some Canadian whiskies are even 
designated as rye on the label. 
This is an accurate, 
but confusing description. 
Whatever their labels say, 
all Canadian whiskies are 
of the same style. 
The classic method of production is to 
blend rye and perhaps other whiskies, 
with relatively neutral spirit. 
These are, indeed rye whiskies 
- but as blends. 
They are quite different 
from the traditional 
straight rye of the United States. 
That is the original "rye".

The best Canadian whiskies have at 
least some of the spicy, 
bitter-sweet character of rye, 
lightened with the blending spirit. 
In some instances, 
this too is distilled 
from rye but the raw material 
hardly matters, 
since it is rectified close 
to neutrality. 
More often, the blending spirit 
is made from corn. 
A further component of the palate 
is a dash of the vanilla sweetness 
to be found in Bourbon. 
This may result from a proportion 
of Bourbon-type whisky 
having been used in the blend, 
or it may derive from the wood 
used in aging. 
Such is the pungency of straight rye 
and Bourbon that their characteristics 
are powerfully evident 
in the palate of a good Canadian whisky, 
despite its being a very dilute blend. 
There is as little as three percent of 
straight whisky in some Canadians, 
more often four or five, 
but not as much as ten. 
This dash of flavour is 
counterpointed with the 
lightness of body provided 
by the far greater 
proportion of the neutral spirit.

One characteristic of many Canadian whiskies 
is their use of rye that has been malted. 
This provides a characteristic smoothness 
and fullness of flavour. 
Unmalted ryes are also used. 
Most blends include more than one rye whisky, 
and for this purpose a single distillery 
may produce several. 
The character and weight of these will vary 
according to the mash bill 
and distillation methods. 
The mash bill for a rye whisky being produced 
for blending may also include 
more than one rye whisky, 
and for this purpose a single distillery 
may produce several. 
The character and weight of these will vary 
according to the mash bill 
and distillation methods. 
The mash bill for a rye whisky being produced 
for blending may also include a small portion 
of barley malt, or perhaps some corn. 
The proportion of these ingredients can be 
varied to produce ryes of differing characters. 
Canadian distilleries also produce their own 
Bourbon-type whiskies for blending purposes. 
They also make corn whiskies, 
and even distill unmalted barley, 
again to produce components for their blends.

The biggest producers, Seagram's, 
have half a dozen distilleries in Canada, 
using several different yeasts, 
and making more than 50 different 
straight whiskies for blending. 
A large number of these will go 
into some of the more complex blends, 
and general Canadian practice is to use 
perhaps 20 different whiskies. 
Even the least complex blend will probably 
contain 15 whiskies, 
built around six or seven basic types.

The changes are also rung in the extent 
to which the various whiskies for blending 
are aged. 
In the case of rye, 
aging tends not only to smoothen 
the whisky but also to make it heavier. 
This effect is more evident if the rye 
is aged as a straight - and that raises 
another variable. 
The extent to which whisky is aged before 
or after blending is a matter on which 
there are different and passionate schools 
of thought in Canada.

• Rum
• Tequila
• Scotch Whisky
• Gin
• Vodka
• Cordials & Liqueurs
• American Whiskey-Bourbon
• Brandy
• Cognac